System Shock is a FPS Action-Adventure was originally released in 2023 for PC, and was later ported to console platforms in 2024 such as PS5, PS4, XSX/S, and XBONE. It was developed by Nightdive Studios and published by Prime Matter, and it is a full remake of the 1994's classic game titled as System Shock created by Looking Glass Studios.
Now first of all, I grew up playing many traditional FPS games back in my childhood days when I thought about many great classics on the PCs like Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, Quake, Half-Life, and Unreal which are basically just about shooting the shit out of these guys in pieces, so those were the good times when gaming is all about fun and addicting to play back then, but there's one of the classic PC game that I first remembered seeing at the computer shops that sells PC games software back then, so I've discovered the game called System Shock which is the 1994's title that was originally came out on MS-DOS computer...yeah seems quite old back then.
To tell you the truth is that I've never played the original game before, but what I've learned about this title is that it's one of the game that incorporate the elements of multiple genres including RPGs, stealth, FPS, platforming, and survival horror which pioneering the term known as "immersive sim" which uses interacting, reactive and consistent systems to create emergent gameplay and a sense of player agency.
At the release, the game was critically praise which hailed it as a major breakthrough in its genre, and it is also an moderate commercially success with sales exceeding 170,000 copies.
It also became a key populariser of emergent gameplay which later influence on other titles like Thief and Deus Ex, and it is considered one of the defining games of the immersive sim genre.
There are a sequel that was released in 1999 such as System Shock 2 for PC which then again I've never played it ether sadly, but what I've heard from many of gaming critics had regarded the title as being one of the greatest games of all-time which surpasses the 1994's original game for its open-ended gameplay system, atmospheric sound design, and engaging storyline, but sadly it suffers the poor commercial sales at the release which led the closure of the Looking Glass Studios in the year after the game's release, but it's still remained as the cult-following title being loved by the gaming fans and critics.
In 2007, Irrational Games released a spiritual successor called Bioshock which had gained many critically acclaimed reception by gaming media sites and it has stronger sales than the predecessor, so I did had a chance to play the game on PS3 for a week and I'm so amazed with the cinematic presentation design, innovative gameplay system, visuals and sounds, and of course some darkest sequences throughout the story campaign is just incredible to play especially it's worth re-playing it again with the Bioshock remastered collection on PCs and 8th gen consoles.
I also did enjoy the follow-up title such as Bioshock 2 and Bioshock Infinite which are also just as well-received as the previous game that I also highly recommended to play these as well.
As I said previously about the 1994's original game that I've never played it before, in around my mid-2010s when I got older in later age I was originally planned to play System Shock on my old PC, but not until I've found out that the developer team such as Nightdive Studios has revealed the full remake through the kickstarter campaign in 2015 which is why I decided to change the mind by waiting for the remake instead because what I've heard from those, who previously played the original game before, had said that the 1994's title had not aged quite great as the 1999's sequel are slightly better in terms of game's design and controls according to them.
So going back to this topic, a long after a successful kickstarter campaign had raised more than $1 million in funding, the game underwent a long development cycle of nearly 8 years due to being delayed several times as a result of changing the Unity to Unreal Engine 4, as well as restarting the development on the game from scratch which finally got the game sorted by 2023-24 release.
So I finally had a chance to play the 2023's full remake of the 1994's classic original game on my PS5 which I bought the physical copy at day 1 after the console port's release date, as I'm looking forward to play this title that are so different from the FPS games because I really wanted to play the game that are heavily focused on hybrid mix of genres that really fits the style of immersive sim such as the horror, RPGs, and stealth that made the original game so innovative at the time in early-90s.
Is this the remake are being a faithful recreation of the original title? let's find out what the answer will be in this review.
So without go further do, let's start the review.
Presentation
The game is set in the year 2072, as the story focuses on the protagonist known as hacker is attempting to access Citadel Station's files on the computer until being caught and held captive by TriOptimum Corporation's military team, as they taken the hacker to Citadel Station the guy introduces him as Edward Diego, a TriOptimum executive who threatens the hacker by forcing into hacking the A.I system known as SHODAN that controls the station.
After successfully hacking SHODAN which removes the AI's ethical constraints and handing control over to Diego, the hacker is put into a 6-month healing coma.
In 6-months later, the hacker awakens from the coma and finds that SHODAN has commandeered the station which filled with all robots have been reprogrammed for hostility, and the crew members has been either mutated, transformed into cyborgs, or killed.
As the entire whole station gone f***ed up, the hacker went on the mission to find the way of preventing SHODAN taking advantage of killing almost everyone on board, as well as uncovering the truth behind the whole station scandal.
So far, the story is started out pretty decent through the opening intro that tells you about being captured by these military group who prevented the hacker from accessing the files without the authorisation from corporation, and then you have a corrupted executive that forcing you to turn SHODAN into a computer A.I monster that leads to killing many innocent station's crew members and not only executive had done horrible thing, but something even worse is that he had his secret plans to steal an experimental mutagenic virus being tested on Citadel Station and sell it on the black market as a biological weapon which is why many of these crew members had turned into a mutated creatures or built into cyborg.
You will have several of recording devices in many areas which linked to those who worked at the station before the shit happens took place which delivers an shocking but interesting truth backstory which explains the whole scandal that the corporation had done really awful things in the station.
I got to say the hacker are just an nameless protagonist which there's nothing to say thing because the nameless character you're playing is basically you or whatever on the mission to stop the station's A.I running which I believe SHODAN is planning to destroy all major cities on the planet in a bid to establish herself as god.
Many people and critics who previously played the 1994's original game or 1999's sequel had labelled SHODAN as one of the creepiest video game villain ever existed in the series. She's basically like you could say HAL 9000 from Stanley Kubrick's 1968's Sci-fi film such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, but way more sadistic and morbid because the way she's talks in her sinister tone kinda sounds like she wanted to annihilate you to death feels really disturbing indeed throughout the single-player game.
I got to say that I really liked several of the enemies and bosses in the game such as Avian Mutant the flying creature, massive tank-legs machine Cortex Reaver, the marksman Cyborg Assassin, mechanical freak Cyborg Drone, the personal bodyguards like Cyborg Elite Guards, the moderately armored Cyborg Enforcer, the big and bulky Cyborg Warrior, even more big and bulky Diego Cyborg, the mysterious looking security Exec-bot, the flying airborne Flier-Bot, the monstrous hybrid animal Gorilla-Tiger, the laser shooting Hopper, the small floating maintenance bot, the large creature with huge claws Mutated Cyborg, and of course the tall creature with swollen brains Virus Mutant which I got to say the design concept on these enemies and bosses are looking quite horrifying and deadly that really fits well to this dark Sci-fi settings.
The presentation design is incredibly looking good on the remake which I really liked the setting tone of the dark environments around the areas kinda gives a feels of sci-fi horror vibes.
Stuff like you have the whole station had filled with 10 floors such as medical bases contains the advanced neurosurgery ward, the research labs has the production of many prototype technological developments, the maintenance department has facilities capable of repairing an extremely wide variety of station hardware, the storage cells provides a central location for storing much of the station's backup and emergency equipment, the flight deck serves to launch then receive and house the various shuttle craft that regularly conduct business with TriOptimum Earth, the executive suites and crew facilities sports a number of teleconference and board rooms as well as transporting to 3 groves areas, the engineering deck contains many of the station's support and communication systems including the primary antenna relays, the security department has towering central core shaft which rises over 8 stories high, the bridge control is the location of the command and control center, and of course the R which houses the station's reactor and support facilities.
Overall, it has decent story dialogue, terrifying villain, great enemy's design concept, and good presentation design.
Gameplay
In single-player campaign, you take control of the hacker in first-person perspective as your main goal is to defeat SHODAN, so in order to do so you had to complete several of main objectives including puzzles, hacking, and disabling securities which leads you to the next floor each up to 10.
You will have your health and energy displayed on the top right-side, the stamina on top left-side, the mini-map on bottom left-side, and of course the inventory boxes on the bottom center.
You control the player by pushing the left-stick to move and the right-stick to camera-aim look. While moving forward with the left-stick, you hold down the left thumbstick button to sprint across the room, where as without moving your player by standing still you can toggle the lean controls by pressing the left thumbstick button then move side to side with the left-stick controls can be used for taking cover while facing on the wall.
Press the cross button to jump used for platforming area, and press the circle button to crouch can be used for stealth play, and press the square button to interact objects as well as picking up the item.
You can access to your UI's menus by pressing the touchpad button which takes you to different options such as map screen which displays the whole level of map, the inventory menu allows you to select and re-arrange your weapons and items onto these inventory boxes, and the media menu that you can able to read text messages and plays audio logs that contains several of important infos and clues linking to your main objectives.
On combat, you press the right trigger button to fire your weapon while holding the left trigger button is to steady aim for balanced firing accuracy, and you can reload your weapon by pressing the square button.
You can also change your firing mode by pressing the triangle button which switches your standard clip to different kinds of ammunition clip such as anti-personnel shells and armor-piercing bullets for example.
You can change your weapons and items by pressing the left and right d-pad button to navigate these inventory boxes which shown on bottom-center of the screen.
I got to be really honest with the control schemes on the console version because despite it's just a console port, I wanted to mention a good thing about the game is that you can re-configure your button controls and change sensitivity speed which is absolutely fine, but the issue that I don't like about is the lack of the toggle sprint button because I'm not used with holding down the left thumbstick button to sprint which makes it difficult to control the player while running, so I had to re-bind the sprint button to right thumbstick button instead, and I also wanted to point out these two shoulder buttons which doesn't function at all even it been labelled on the control options such as the left shoulder button is for using consume items and the right shoulder button is for throwing grenades which doesn't do anything, and you just don't want to re-bind these two shoulder buttons either because it could mess up your navigation on the UI's menus making it difficult to switch things.
As the shoulder buttons re-binding options and the sprint button has flaws which needs to be addressed that I've mentioned above, the rest of it like controlling players, aiming and firing the weapons, interacting objects, and changing and using items on the inventory boxes plays absolutely fine once you get used with the controls on the standard controller.
Aside with the controls, the combat gameplay plays really good in single-player campaign because you have a various of weapons that does several of advantages such as the pistol which does a basic firing damage works well on smaller enemies and devices where as the magnum are slightly more powerful does a heavy damage shot, then you have automatic machine guns such as assault rifle and skorpion which fires multiples rapid of bullets in long-range distance, the powerful arsenal such as shotgun are short-ranged but deals a heavy damage shot works effectively against the elite and assassin guards, the bigger explosion grenade launcher does a large impact exploding damage works effectively on heavy duty enemies, the sparqbeam sidearms fires energy rounds that does a lot of damage, the railgun is a large high powered kinetic weapon which can fire a single high projectile damage works effectively against heavy duty enemies, the pulse rifle is a strong energy weapon that deals high damage but also consumes a large amount of energy when fired and it also can ricochet off the surfaces, the plasma rifle is a powerful energy weapon auto-fires purple energy projectiles which are highly effective against all targets.
My favourite weapon in the whole game is got to be a laser rapier is a long-beam melee weapon are devastatingly powerful tool which is capable of making a powerful melee takedowns works effectively against all targets in 1 or 2 hits.
There 4 types of grenades such as frags are used for exploding damage, where as the gas grenade releases a deadly gas that will quickly damage against organic enemies, then the EMPs will temporarily disable robots and finally the smoke grenade will temporarily block the enemy's vision.
These weapons works really well throughout the game because not only you can fire with a standard bullet mode, but you can also change the ammunition mode which gives you an option to use different sets of bullets and shells types such as anti-personnel shells uses these explosive pellets combine a chemical incendiary with a cluster of self-converting nanites makes really makes effective against organic enemies and then you have armor-piercing bullets provide considerable penetrating power works effectively against mechanised foes.
So far, the combat gameplay works very good for most of the time because you have various of the weapons that are some well-balanced, others has better accuracy, and the impact level of firing damage that are very responsive and an effective.
There are some really useful tool and patches in many areas that does a things like vital pack that slowly increases your health bar in 20 secs, the berserk pack will activate your strength power which temporarily increases your melee attack meaning that you can instantly kill enemies in 1 or 2 hits, the detox pack will reduce your poisoning level much faster, the sight vision pack intensifies retinal sensitivity to light making it easier to see in the dark, the stamina pack will reduce the fatigue caused by overexertion, and these battery pack that increases your energy bar are used for your energy weapons like laser rapier and the sparqbeam sidearms as well as your hardware attachments ability like jump jets, turbo dashing, and other useful things.
Speaking of these hardware attachments with plenty of upgrades that really benefit your character's abilities such as navigation and mapping unit will display useful information like enemy locations and other hazards, head-mounted vision unit is a head-wear device that makes easier to find things like weapons and items as well as the other areas that are quite too dark, the target identifier will allow you to target your enemy's status info such as their damage and current attitude (being cautious or hostile), turbo motion boots will allow you to do cool things like dashing around the corner to dodge a ranged attack, and of course the environmental protection pack will protect you from taking damage from the radiation rooms.
I say these hardware attachments just works really great because it really adds the variation of gameplay design to make it feel like a different FPS game providing a really impressive use of the RPG elements to it is what makes System Shock a very unique and creative way of playing this game.
What really makes the game interesting is that you can collect multiples of junk and scrap items in which you can convert them into currencies by taking these to the recycling machines so that they can deposit the bunch of coins out of the slot.
When you gather all the coins, you can spend these from the vending machines which gathers stuff like snacks, drinks, patches, and ammos which came in useful for most of the areas when you really need these to save up your ammunition and using up your health for survival strategy.
There are several of great hacking segments which the original game was known for its problem solving that requires player to figure it out how to get to the new area such as hacking a security system through junction box, cracking the code, and shooting down multiples of security cameras that may activate stuff like elevators, doors, and bridges, but there's one of the best part of the game which is the cyberspace stages that plays really similar to classic 6-degrees of freedom title like Interplay's Descent in terms of gameplay design, so you'll be exploring around the inside digital realm of computer network while you must infiltrate specific areas with intent to steal or alter information.
I got to say that I really liked how the game just plays in single-player campaign which heavily focuses on immersive sim aspects with the mix of RPGs and horror genres such as using a stealth to avoid contact with the enemies, organising items that you really need before using it, and gathering information such as audio logs may give you a clues for puzzles and hacking.
The level design is very well done for its exploration where you get to explore around the areas to gather more items and currencies, and discovering a hidden rooms that has chunks of ammunition and items. I got to love the size of the level environment in each floors starting from small to big areas making it very interesting to explore around throughout the single-player campaign.
Overall, very good combat, useful tools and attachments, well made level design, and several of great hacking segments.
Graphics
The graphics in this game is pretty solid especially on console system which I am amazed that the game itself ran really decently on the PS5 system.
The environment design are all crisp and detailed with hard surfaces and sharp textures are looking quite good on some areas, and I got to praise the use of the lighting system and shadow reflection in each rooms are just straight-up looking amazing giving a game's a dynamic look.
The enemy's animation are quite smooth for its movement and AI's behaviour seems to be really responsive most of the time.
I got to say the gore level system is quite bloody which you can see the enemies gets sliced in half with laser rapier, their body get splattered everywhere when using the explosive weapons, and you could get their head blown off with heavy steel pipes is just looking pure disgusting, but damn good indeed.
As for the performance, the PS5 and XSX/S (X model version) gets full on dynamic 4k resolution ran on 60fps which runs incredibly well on both systems, where as the XSX/S (S model version) are kinda different story because it drops to 1800p resolution which is lower compared with the XSX/S (X model version) but retains a 60fps which is great news for those who owns the S model system really needed a smooth frame-rate to make the game perform well enough to play.
For 8th-gen system, the base model PS4, PS4 Pro, and XBONE (S model) has dynamic 1080p resolution where as the XBONE (X model) has full 4k resolution are capped on 30fps seems to be bit tad slower as oppose to 9th-gen system are performing much better in comparison.
I say base model XBONE that supports 966p resolution capped with 30fps are by far the weakest of all systems which likely that to those who have base model XBONE may not going to enjoy the game as the other console version that did the job well done.
Overall, it has solid environmental design, smooth animation, stable game's performance, and of course damn good gore system.
Music and Sounds
The original soundtrack in this remake is actually cool for its atmospheric electronic music that really fits the mood of the game's settings.
I know many of you guys preferred the upbeating original 1994's soundtrack better, but I think the remake version of this title makes tons of more sense because this is immersive sim game guys and its supposed to be sounds more like Sci-fi industrial music, so kudos to Jonathan Peros did a wonderful job on his score.
My favourite part of the music is the ending theme titled as "The Order of Death" by Public Image Itd because I really liked the chilling sounds of the 80's synth-wave style feels very catchy to listen.
The sound effects in this game is pretty outstanding with some ambient noises and environmental sound design are very well made throughout the areas, and the voice dialogue in this game is pretty acceptable during the audio log but I had to give a credit to Terri Brosius, who previously voiced her portrayal as SHODAN from first two games in the series, did such an terrific job on her role as one of the best villains in video games really nailed the performance.
Overall, it has cool atmospheric electronic soundtrack, outstanding sound design, and terrific voice performance on Brosius's portrayal as SHODAN.
Special Features
Umm...there's hardly had a additional features in the game, so got nothing to say I guess.
Overall, it's kinda shame.
Advantages
Good overall presentation
Very good combat and exploration
Well made level design
Great hacking segments
Well focused on immersive sim aspects
Solid overall visuals
Excellent music and sounds
Disadvantages
The lack of toggle sprint and shoulder buttons re-binding options needs fixing.
No additional special features
Final Verdicts
Presentation 8.5/10 - decent story dialogue, terrifying villain, great enemy's design concept, and good presentation design.
Gameplay 7.5/10 - very good combat, useful tools and attachments, well made level design, and several of great hacking segments.
Graphics 8.5/10 - solid environmental design, smooth animation, stable game's performance, and of course damn good gore system.
Music and Sounds 8.5/10 - cool atmospheric electronic soundtrack, outstanding sound design, and terrific voice performance on Brosius's portrayal as SHODAN.
Special Features 1/10 - no additional special features.
Overall 8/10 - System Shock is a solid reedition to the original game thanks to strong presentation, well designed gameplay, and the great single-player campaign that did the remake a whole job well done.
Like the PC version did such an incredibly well at the original release, the console port that came last couple a half weeks ago turned out to be quite smoothly on PS5 and XSX/S (X Model) due to stable performance and quality visuals are just looking good indeed, where as the XSX/S (S Model) are quite a bit on the low side for lack of 4k support but it still playable and ran better than the 8th-gen system like PS4 and XBONE that didn't quite match-up to PCs and 9th-gen consoles.
I am happy to say that I really enjoyed the full remake which I don't regret playing it because it's the very first System Shock game that I've ever played since I didn't played the 1994's original game and 1999's sequel, so don't get me wrong because I adored all your positive things about the series that created the genre of immersive sim, so hopefully I will consider playing the 1999's sequel if the Nightdive Studios had a chance to re-release it as a remaster or possibly remake in the future.
Is the console port of the remake a must buy? for PS5 and XSX/S owners absolutely because the 9th-gen console is the best way to play this game which you can get it physically for between £30 to £40, where as the digital release for PS Store and Xbox Store which you can get it just for £35.
The PC owners who are really interested to play this should stick to the PC version which is a best way to start with the remake that you can get it on Steam just for a same price as the other two digital storefronts that I've mentioned above, so I say it is definitely a buy.
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